


Phantom Puppet Master

by chilled_ramune



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Shadow Mishima AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2020-10-26 07:53:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20738798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chilled_ramune/pseuds/chilled_ramune
Summary: Mishima's "help" has turned into something a little different. He's become focused less on helping the thieves, and more on helping himself. His views on his role with the thieves has become distorted-and that can only mean one thing. Akira doesn't want to accept it, but they may have found their next target.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This idea has been stuck in my head for awhile. I finally decided it needed to be written instead of just sitting in my head. It probably won't be super long, but I'm hoping to make it last at least 3 chapters. We'll see how it goes.

The days passed since the Phantom Thieves changed the heart of Futaba Sakura. Things were quiet, almost too quiet. The occasional request came in and they’d go to Mementos and take care of it, but there wasn’t anything wild. There was, however, a small dilemma their leader found himself dealing with. An issue with quite possibly the group’s number one fan. 

Yuuki Mishima put a lot into the Phantom Aficionado Site, and his support was typically appreciated. Typically. As of late, Akira noticed his classmate was starting to get...carried away. He already had very clearly lost a lot of sleep managing the site, and on top of that he was beginning to lose sight of why he started helping the thieves in the first place.

What had started as a way to help them help people that were in the same place he once was in became a selfish need to get the attention the thieves got, and even attempting to use them for his personal gain. He’d find targets on impulse, targets that didn’t make sense for the thieves to go after. Targets that seemed to benefit him personally more than anything. Sure, Akiyama was a bit of a bully, but Akira saw no reason to target him other than him teasing Mishima a lot. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t something that would make him need a change of heart. Not from the Phantom Thieves, anyways. 

**Mishima: **Do you mind meeting with me out by the practice buildings a bit after school? I want to talk in private. 

The text came in during class. Akira looked across the classroom, Mishima was leaning over the current assignment thoughtfully, paying no mind to Akira at all.

**Akira: **Alright. See you then.

Class continued on. Akira didn’t look at Mishima again, but he was all he could think about. He had a feeling he knew why he was being called-and he knew he needed to stop it. He had been very vague about his feelings on targeting Akiyama. He needed to be direct. Say no. It wasn’t the thieves’ problem to deal with, it was Mishima’s alone. He couldn’t expect them to fight his battles for him. Right. That’s all he needed to say. Well, maybe not. He felt there was one more thing he needed to request...

As the day ended, Akira made his way to the area around the practice building. Mishima was already sitting over by the vending machines. He looked tired as ever, flipping through his phone, likely checking the Phansite as always. Mishima didn’t acknowledge him at first; he seemed very caught up in whatever he was doing on the site. There were also a lot of people around. He was likely waiting for some of them to clear out before talking. Once the crowd thinned out, Mishima put his phone in his pocket and waved to Akira. 

“Sorry about that. Thanks for showing up,” He said. 

Akira nodded. “What’s up?"

“I just wanted an update. Usually I wouldn’t pressure things, but it’s been awhile. How are things going with Akiyama?”

“Mishima...” Akira found it hard to find the words. He didn’t want to hurt Mishima’s feelings, but... “The thieves...aren’t going after Akiyama.” _ Choose your words carefully, don’t upset him too much. _“He’s a frankly biased request. I understand your desire to stop your bully, but there are more important targets.” The next part was the hardest to say. 

“Honestly, Mishima. I think you need a break from the Phantom Thieves. Your help is appreciated, but maybe you should hand the site over to someone else, at least for a bit. I have a friend who’s really good with this stuff, I’ll let you meet her if you’d like.” Mishima was timid enough that Futaba could handle him, right? Hell, _ she _ might scare _ him _. “But I think this is starting to get unhealthy for you. How much have you even slept in the past few days?”

Mishima glared at Akira. “I’m fine. But I _ strongly _ suggest you take this request.” There was a tone in his voice that Akira hadn’t heard before. Was it...anger? Was Mishima mad? “The thieves wouldn’t have gotten this far without me. They _ owe _me this.”

“You need to solve this on your own, Mishima. Now please, for your own sake, just take a short break and reflect on why you started doing this.” Akira’s demeanor also changed. He tried to be understanding and gentle, but he realized that wouldn’t work. He needed to be stern, firm. “You’re getting carried away. You’re being selfish. The Phantom Thieves aren’t yours to simply control. They aren’t going to solve your problems for you.” 

Mishima only seemed to get worse. His glare got stronger. “Alright. I didn’t want to do this, but clearly you’ve forced my hand.” He stood up straighter, his fists clenched. “I didn’t come to the conclusion on the identity of the Phantom Thieves by chance, you know. I’ve gathered information and evidence ever since the first calling card was sent out. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

Unfortunately, Akira did. _ Again? _How many times would their identities be at stake? “Mishima...”

“Let’s make a deal. You change Akiyama’s heart in...3 weeks. If his heart isn’t changed before that time, I send my evidence to the police.” Mishima wasn’t just angry anymore. There was a darkness in his tone, one that seemed out of place on him. “Three weeks, Kurusu. I’m sure that’s plenty of time for the Phantom Thieves.” He began to walk off. “If you want to discuss this issue more, I’ll be in Shibuya. See you...or not.” He chuckled softly as he left Akira. It was hard to believe this was even Mishima anymore. 

_ God damnit. _Akira knew what the possibilities were, but he didn’t want to accept them. Mishima wasn’t a bad person. Then again, neither was Futaba. Still, that was different. Mishima was just a little misguided. No, a little was certainly an understatement. He was very misguided, his heart and desires had been twisted. And that meant it was possible that...

“This isn’t good...” Morgana muttered as he peeked out Akira’s bag. “We should call the others. There’s a high chance that his distortions are high enough to-”

“I know,” Akira groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn’t want to fight this battle. He didn’t want to believe Mishima was that far gone. But what choice did he have? Sure, they could take on Akiyama in Mementos, but that might just make things worse. He couldn’t let Mishima think he had control. It sucked, but he knew there wasn’t much of a choice here. He called up the others and made his way back to Leblanc. 

* * *

“He really said that...?” Ann asked, leaning over the table with her chin in her hand. “I didn’t think he had anything like that in him...he always seemed so quiet in class.”

“He found out your identities just a couple of days after Kamoshida confessed, right? He may have even known before that...it’s quite possible he knew right after the calling card was put out.” Makoto said thoughtfully. 

“What, you jealous?” Ryuji mocked as he leaned closer to her. “How long did it take you again?”

Makoto glared at him sharply. “It didn’t take long once I worked at it, thanks to your loud mouth.” She snapped back.

“He certainly can’t know about all of us,” Yusuke pointed out. "We've grown quite a bit even since I joined." 

Morgana hopped up from Futaba’s lap and onto the table. “Still, even if he only knows about a few of us, it’d be bad if those few were found out,” He stated. “Especially since the one he definitely knows is our leader.”

“I could always hack his site,” Futaba said as she reached for Morgana, who stayed just outside of her arm length. “Can’t be that hard.”

“No, not yet. That might just make things worse. What we need to do is...” Akira hesitated. It was so hard to say. He didn’t want to say it. He still didn’t want to accept the possibility. “We need to check the nav.”

“Wait wait wait,” Ryuji put up his hands. “You really think he has a _ Palace _ ?! This is _ Mishima _ we’re talking about. You’re going to tell me you actually think _ Yuuki Mishima _ has a-”

“_Candidate found. _”

“For real?!” 

“So he does have one,” Morgana said grimly. 

“I wish it wasn’t the case...” Akira sighed and crossed his arms. 

“So we’ve got the name, now we need the location...” Makoto tapped her chin in thought as the room went silent. 

“The location is the place causing the distortion, right?” Futaba asked, still reaching across the table. “Like how mine was my room.” 

“Maybe his is his room too?” Ryuji wondered. “He seems like kinda a shut in.” 

“_C__onditions not met. _”

“Think harder,” Yusuke said. “His distortions surround us, right?”

“Well...we are pretty big around the country right now, right?” Ann questioned. “Maybe...Japan?”

“_Conditions not met. _” 

“You guys are thinking too hard,” Futaba scolded. “He runs that website centered around us. What does he call it? The Phansite?” She cheered silently as she finally grabbed a thoroughly unamused Morgana and pulled him back in her lap. 

“_Candidate found. _”

“Holy shit...” Ryuji muttered. 

“Does this mean we can access the Palace from anywhere?” Ann asked, running a hand through one of her pigtails. 

“We should be able to...can someone open the site on their phone?” Makoto asked without looking up from her own phone. “It’ll pop up on the nav if we can access it.”

Yusuke was first to do so. “Any luck?” 

Makoto sighed. “Nope.”

“We may need administrative access,” Futaba chimed. “If only you could get it... Oh wait, that’s right, you have me.” 

“No,” Akira said. “Hacking it poses too many risks. We need to go to him directly. He told me I could find him in Shibuya. As long as we keep our distance, we should be fine.” 

“Not much less risky,” Makoto said. “But at least if we’re seen by him, we can brush it off as a coincidence. Can’t really do that with a hacking.” 

“Let us be off then.” Yusuke was already up and heading down the stairs as he said that. The others followed, and they made their way to Shibuya. 

* * *

They made their way through the streets of Shibuya, peeking in every store window, every building, and found Mishima at the arcade. His full attention was on a shooting game, and he seemed to be letting his anger out on it.

“Wow...he looks...pissed,” Ryuji said in shock. 

“We don’t have time for staring!” Ann whispered as she pulled him back. “Now quiet down before he sees us!”

Makoto already had her phone out. “Yuuki Mishima...Phansite...and...what could the cognition be?”

Futaba rocked on her heels as she tried to think. “Well, he’s using it to control us right?” She asked. “Maybe a control room?” 

“_C__onditions not met. _”

“Too technical,” Ann said. “When you think you control someone, don’t people usually refer to that as someone being your ‘pawn?’ What about a chessboard?” 

“_Conditions not met. _”

“That may be a bit too specific...” Yusuke mused. “Perhaps he sees us as performers of a sort. Try...studio.”

“_Conditions not met. _”

“God damnit!” Ryuji punched a wall as he yelled. “Why’s this part always so frustrating?!” 

“I think Yusuke might be onto something with the performer thing...” Akira said. “How about...hm...a stage?” 

“_Conditions not met. _”

“Think bigger,” Yusuke replied. “Something like...a theater.” He posed dramatically with his arms out, nearly smacking Ryuji in the face. 

“Hey! Watch where you’re-”

“_C__andidate found. _”

Yusuke bowed gracefully. “Now that was rather simple, wasn’t it?”

“Whatever...” Ryuji grumbled, scratching the back of his head. “Let’s just get in there already.” 

The world around the group faded, and in seconds the thieves were found themselves outside a large building surrounded by flashy lights. A marquee at the top read, “LIVE-PUPPET MASTER MISHIMA AND THE PHANTOM THIEVES.” There was a line outside of the theater, and on the side of the building there was a labeled “VIP Entrance,” with a much shorter line. 

“Fascinating...” Fox said quietly, already trying to frame the building with his fingers. “Though it is quite different from painting, Theatre is still an art form...this puppet master has my utmost respect.”

“That puppet master is our enemy. Don’t start cozying up to him.” Skull said.

“Am I not allowed to appreciate good taste when I see it?”

“Not when it’s from our friggin’ enemy you can’t!”

Queen stepped between the two. “Stay focused...it looks like we haven’t changed yet, meaning we aren’t a threat. Let’s keep it that way for as long as possible.”

“Right,” Mona agreed. “So don’t do anything reckless, Skull.” 

“Why me?!” Skull snapped back.

“Guys, really.” Joker stepped forward. “Queen’s right. We need to focus. And...please don’t call Mishima the enemy.” He put his hand up as Skull started to speak, cutting him off. “We’re here to help him, not fight him.”

“But what if it comes to that...?” Panther asked nervously. Joker didn’t have an answer. He didn’t want to think about the possibility. 

The group walked forward, ready to look for a way into the building, when a voice called from nearby.

“Over there! Are you the Phantom Thieves?” The shadow in front the VIP line asked. 

The group exchanged cautious looks, and after a moment Joker stepped forward. “Who’s asking?”

“Puppet master Mishima wanted me to give you all VIP access. If you follow me, I’ll lead you to your VIP seats. The best balcony in the house.” The shadow walked into the building. 

“Let’s go with them,” Mona said. “But stay on your guard. This could be a trap.”

The group was led around to a balcony overlooking a large theater. There were more balconies along the walls, theirs seemed to be one of the lower ones. On the ground level sat rows of chairs. All of this was facing a stage with a red curtain. The stage was currently empty, but the seats were filled with cognitive people, all decked out in Phantom Thief gear, talking among themselves.

“Puppet master Mishima is so cool isn’t he?”

“I hear he does this all on his own!”

“He works so hard...all for the sake of the Phantom Thieves!”

“Ugh, where’d he get such a big ego all of a sudden?” Skull asked in disgust as the group took their seats. “What happened to the quiet, meek guy?”

“Think about it. We caught at least one of our targets thanks to the support of the Phansite, and that’s not even counting Mementos targets, which are mostly thanks to him,” Joker explained, playing with his hair. “It’s gotten to the point where he thinks that he’s why we’ve gotten where we are today.” 

“That’s hardly even true though!” Panther said. “Sure he helped a lot. But we got this far thanks to the case with Medjed, which he had almost nothing to do with...” 

Before the discussion could continue, a familiar voice came over the loudspeaker. “Attention everyone, attention!” 

“Mishima...” Joker muttered. The group watched the stage carefully, waiting for the shadow to show his face.

“Now, before we begin the show, I’d like to welcome some very special guests to the theater! Let’s get a round of applause for the Phantom Thieves!” A spotlight fell on the group, and a second on the stage, as a person walked out and stood at the center. “So happy you could join us today! I’ve been expecting you.” 

It was Mishima, clearly, but he looked different-as all Palace rulers tend to. There was of course, the yellow eyes indicative of any shadow. His teeth were strangely sharp and angular, like those of some sort of monster from a children’s book His outfit wasn’t far off from what one would expect for a phantom thief in a movie. The red vest he wore over the black long sleeve dress shirt had coattails that floated behind him as he walked. The bowtie on his shirt matched his vest. His gloves were black, as were his pants, shoes, and the bandit-like mask he wore, and the look was finished off by a red top hat. It almost looked familiar...

“Hey!” Skull exclaimed. “He looks exactly like the Phantom Thief logo I drew for Kamoshida’s card!”

“Why that one though...” Fox muttered, holding his chin thoughtfully. “Our current one is certainly more...elegant.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean!” Skull shouted defensively. 

“Guys, stay focused,” Mona whispered. “We don’t know what he’s going to pull...”

“Well, looks like they’re all here! There’s more of you than I thought! You’ve really gathered a nice little club here haven’t you? A shame I was never invited... Oh! Could it be you’re here to steal my heart?!” Mishima’s shadow gasped dramatically and laughed. “Oh, but who cares about that, you’re all here to see the real show, aren’t you?” The audience cheered in excitement. 

Shadow Mishima vanished backstage, the curtain opened, and they were presented with a stage that looked oddly like Shujin academy. Another moment, and three puppets dropped down limply from above. The puppets were of...Akira, Ryuji, and Ann?

“Oh, what should we do today?” Puppet Ann asked. Despite only being a puppet, it had her voice. Well, the distorted cognitive version of her voice. 

“We should ask our great and powerful leader,” the cognitive Ryuji said. 

“Yes!” Cognitive Akira agreed. “Let’s go ask our great director Mishima immediately! He surely has an amazing new mission for the Phantom Thieves!”

The show dragged on in a similar way, with the thieves stealing the hearts (quite literally, they pulled plush hearts of the bodies of other puppets) of various targets Mishima would give them. It ended with them swearing the unfleeting loyalty to their wonderful and treasured friend and director Mishima. 

Shadow Mishima stepped out at the end and bowed. “What do you say everyone? Wasn’t that a wonderful show?” The crowd cheered, but the thieves remained unimpressed. “Oh? It seems our heroes aren’t feeling the excitement.” Again, the spotlight fell on the Phantom Thieves. “Tell me, Phantom Thieves, what did you think of the show? Specifically Sakamoto. I’d love to hear what you have to say.”

“The hell was that?! And get this damn light out of my face!” Skull shouted. “We ain’t your little playthings! Joker was nice enough to let you help us, you should appreciate that more!” 

The shadow chuckled and shook his head. “A shame...if you’re causing such a scene, I’m afraid I’ll have to escort you out.” He snapped, and a large group of shadows materialized behind them. 

“Really Skull?! Can you keep your mouth shut for five seconds?!” Mona cried. “There’s no way we can handle a group this large!” He hopped on top of the balcony wall and looked down. “Com’n it’s low enough that we can jump!” He jumped off the railing and landed gracefully on the ground, followed by the rest of the group. They managed to barely escape, and found themselves thrown back into the alley. 

* * *

“What the hell...is that really how he sees us?! His puppets?!” Ryuji shouted, punching a wall again. 

“What happened to him...he always seemed so kind and quiet...” Ann said, much quieter. She kept her gaze down, and an arm crossed across her chest.

“Not sure...” Akira replied. “But we need to fix this.” 

The group dispersed, and Akira laid in bed that night wondering where things went wrong. Maybe if he was kinder? Or maybe if he was meaner? Maybe he should have rejected Mishima outright. No, the targets they took in Mementos were important, and if not for the site they wouldn’t have even known about Madarame. He helped them so much...and it only just occurred to Akira that he never so much as thanked his classmate for his hard work...maybe it was his fault then? The thought made it hard for him to relax. With so much on his mind, he almost didn’t notice when his phone rang. 

**Futaba: **You guys check the site recently? There’s been some changes 

“Changes huh?” Morgana asked. “We should check it out.”

Akira nodded and opened the website on his phone. Sure enough, the website had changed completely. There was no longer supportive messages from the admin, but a message on the front page.

“_The fame of the Phantom Thieves has gotten to their head. They have become selfish, self-serving, and forgotten who they are here for. For this reason, I plan to reveal their secrets to the world. Their actions cannot continue any longer. Phantom Thieves, either change your ways, or face the consequences_.”

The message was accompanied by a countdown timer to the date that Mishima had already given to him, a new poll, and a new collection of comments. 

The poll asked: “Are the Phantom Thieves self-serving?” There was only a small percentage of people saying yes, and the comments seemed to mostly be criticizing the message. 

“Admin snapped lol.”

“is this for real?”

“reveal their secrets? why?”

“They’ve helped a lot of people...”

Akira switched back to his messenger. 

**Yusuke: **Am I the only one who finds this rather petty and childish?

**Ryuji: **Nah man. It totally is. He’s practically stomping around because he’s not getting his way...

**Futaba: **Like a child being denied candy at the store...

**Ann: **All of this over a bully...

**Akira: **Regardless of how we feel, we have to change his heart. 

**Yusuke: **I still am curious as to why his shadow self is designed after Ryuji’s logo. 

**Ryuji: **Because it’s fucking cool!

**Makoto: **It’s most likely that design has stuck in his head. He was a victim of Kamoshida’s abuse. It’s only natural that the design of the calling card that brought him down would stick. 

**Ann: **That makes sense...

**Yusuke: **Either way, it’s getting late. We can discuss this further next time Akira calls us all together. 

Akira put his phone back away and sighed. This wasn’t going to be in an easy Palace to face at all. But, it had to be done. If they didn’t change Mishima’s heart, everything was at risk. They’d just have to face it like they always did. Find and take the treasure, possibly even fight the shadow...the same old routine. It was the fight he worried about. Even if it was a cognitive version of him, he hated the idea of fighting his classmate. His...friend? Were they friends? If they were, he’d almost certainly been an awful one. 

He found it hard to sleep that night. 

  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With their goal in mind, the Phantom Thieves once again set out to Mishima's palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't forgotten about this!!! Just had a tough time writing this chapter so it took...awhile. We're good now though!!!  


The Thieves met up at LeBlanc the next day after school, and after Akira made the necessary preparations. Medicine, better armor, better weapons. The usual. The group sat around the table in the attic, and Akira didn’t have to ask to know that everyone felt things were different this time. The air of the room felt as if it may snap in a second, things were so tense. Mishima was completely different than any of their previous targets, even Futaba. The decision to target him was unanimous, sure. But it was such a hesitant agreement. He didn't feel like the kind of person they should be targeting. 

“I still can’t believe he really has a Palace. The way he acted towards Akira, the way his shadow acted... It doesn’t seem like him at all.” Ann frowned as she looked down at the table and played with her. “He always looked so kind and patient.”

Ryuji scowled and crossed his arms, slouching in his chair. “Man, we shouldn’t have trusted him the first place. He was probably stalkin’ us if he figured out we’re the Phantom Thieves so quickly.” 

“Attitudes like that are exactly what got us into this situation, Ryuji,” Akira said, the stern tone in his voice sounding as if he were scolding a child. 

“Attitudes like that?” Yusuke tilted his head. “How so? I’ll agree that Ryuji’s behavior has been rather boorish, but what does that have to do with your classmate’s corruption?” 

“We’ve been awful to Mishima. This whole time he’s helped us, and we didn’t so much as thank him. It’s our fault he got to this point.” Akira leaned over with his elbows resting on his legs, folding his hands together. There were so many times he could have thanked Mishima, so many times he could have shown his appreciation just once. Instead he was cold, distant, even outright mean at times. He pushed Mishima to this point. “That’s mostly on me, since I was the one he had the most contact with. If had even thanked him once, maybe he’d be better off.” He buried his face in his hands and groaned. This really was his fault wasn’t it?

“Trying to figure out who to blame here doesn’t do us any good.” Makoto walked over and put a comforting hand on Akira’s shoulder. “For all we know, this would have happened regardless. All we can do now is change his heart.”

Akira sighed as he sat back. “Right. Same as always.”

“Find a path to the treasure, send the calling card, take the treasure.” Morgana said, once again sitting just outside of Futaba’s reach. “I know this isn’t a favorable target, but our lives as Phantom Thieves are on the line here.” 

“I know.” Akira sighed as he stood up. He hated this. He hated every moment of this. “Let’s get going. We need to find him before he goes home. I think I saw him heading towards the dinner when I was shopping.” 

Sure enough, when they got to Shibuya and peeked into the diner, Mishima was still sitting at one of the booths. At the moment he appeared to be studying. His head dropped a bit as he looked over his papers, but popped back up quickly and he returned to work.They managed to go undetected, and ducked out before they were noticed. With their location found, they made their way into the Metaverse. 

To no one’s surprise, the group’s outfits had changed into their usual Phantom Thief costumes. “Looks like we’re considered a threat now,” Mona said, looking around at the group. “Stay on your guard.”

“Gonna guess that VIP entrance isn’t an option now.” Oracle motioned to the cognitive ushers standing outside the doors to the theater. 

“A shame,” Fox said with a sigh as he looked wistfully at the brightly lit building. “I would have loved to attend another show.”

Skull swatted the back of Fox’s head lightly as he walked past. “I thought we already established that we aren’t gonna praise the en-” He stopped himself when Joker’s sharp glare pierced him right through the chest. “Whatever, let’s just start looking for a better way in.” 

They made their way around to the side of the building, climbing over the wall by using a nearby display. Behind the wall, they found themselves in what appeared to be a storage area for unused display and set pieces, as well as a work area for building sets. The door into the building was locked. Of course. It was never that easy. After some looking, Joker found that a discarded set piece could get them up to the top of the workshed, and the wall next to it could get them across to the roof of the building, where they would find the perfect opening. 

As the group dropped in through the roof window, they studied their surroundings. They appeared to be backstage. The dimly-lit area was home to simple wooden set pieces, many resembling locations familiar to the Thieves. Shujin, the buildings lining the streets of Shibuya, the train station, all painted on pieces of wood. Red velvet curtains separated the backstage from the stage. From their position, they could hear Shadow Mishima’s voice coming from onstage. 

“I’m afraid my little puppets have gone astray,” His voice echoed through the theater, a tone no one had ever even expected to hear from Mishima. The scorn he had for the Phantom Thieves filled the room, and sent a chill down Akira’s spine. How long was Mishima’s heart so spiteful...? “The Phantom Losers have broken their loyalty to their Puppet Master. I want them disposed of. Anyone who can bring those traitors down will be rewarded handsomely.” The crowd chattered with the energy of the shadows in the audience. “Now then my lovely fans, go forth and eliminate the Phantom Thieves!” 

With his speech over, the shadow made his way backstage. The Thieves ducked away behind a set piece. They watched as he paced through the area in silence and waited for their chance to move forward. They hardly dared to breathe as the figure moved forward. Just as he was about to leave, a bit of dust floated towards Mona, causing him to sneeze. Shadow Mishima froze in his tracks and turned around. “Oh? Intruders?” He moved towards the set piece and peeked behind it. “I should have known. You Phantom Failures really love getting in the way, don’t you? Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. For now.” 

Akira moved forward. Could he possibly reason with this shadow...? It worked on weaker shadows, but he never tried to reason with a Palace ruler. Maybe he could get this one to change his ways. Change his heart without having to fight anyone or steal a treasure. “Mishima. I know we- I know  _ I  _ have been awful to you. You worked hard, and I never appreciated it. I’m sorry for that. I’m sure you know why we’re here, but we don’t have to go through this. We don’t have to fight, we don’t have to force a change of heart. We can work this out.” 

The shadow stared on, and as Akira spoke, his expression seeming to soften some. Once Akira was done, his face steadily twisted back into a wicked grin. “You can’t be serious, right? You think after all that, you can just apologize and make things better?! You have your terms. Frankly, I’m being generous just by not taking you out on the spot. No... that wouldn’t be fun enough. We can’t end the show after just one act can we?” He laughed sharply, and Akira felt like he was being shredded to ribbons. “I’m sure I’ll see you again, Phantom Fools.” 

Skull growled and clenched his fists. “We’re the ones being generous by not kicking your ass!” He shouted, leaping forward to throw a punch. The shadow vanished, and reappeared on the catwalk above them. 

“Ah ah, it’s not time for the climax yet.” He said, leaning over the rail of the catwalk with a grin. “No, the first act is just picking up.” He snapped, and a shadow appeared in front of the group, appearing in the form of a Phan decked in Phantom Thief gear. “Take care of them for me, will you? I have business to attend to.” He laughed as he walked off, leaving the Thieves to face the shadow. 

The shadow took on its true form, a human-sized plain wooden marionette, with a wide grin painted on its face. It sat in front of them, and they prepared for battle. Joker, Fox, Skull, and Mona took the front line. “You’ve disrespected The Puppetmaster for the last time! I’ll take you out and win his favor!” The shadow shouted. 

The Marionette attacked first, moving forward and taking a swipe at Fox. A barrier formed between him and the shadow, deflecting the swipe back and doing a small amount of damage. The puppet fell back, and Mona attacked next. A cutting gust of wind overtook the monster as Mona called his Persona. The gust did a larger amount of damage than the deflected attack, but not quite enough to knock out the monster. Skull took the next move, summoning his Persona to land a strong physical attack against the puppet, knocking it flat to the ground. With the shadow downed, the team went in for what, on a weaker shadow, would have been a finishing attack. However, the puppet stayed standing. Fox called his own Persona to deal a powerful ice blow to the shadow, and managed to freeze it in place. 

“Follow up with a physical attack!” Queen called. Joker nodded and called upon the persona Anzu to deal a strong physical blow, one strong enough to bring the puppet to the verge of defeat. The Marionette moved once again, this time turning and waving to Mona. In an instant, Mona’s head spun, and he seemed completely different. On his move, rather than providing support to the team, he cast a skill on the enemy, and healed him almost completely. 

“Damnit Mona!” Skull complained. Fox quickly searched for an item and pulled out a small tube of gel and very gently rubbed it on Mona’s head, returning him to normal. Skull unleashed a powerful electric move onto the shadow, once again bringing it to a weakened state. Joker switched to Isis, and attacked with fire. At this rate, they’d have the shadow down soon. 

The Marionette motioned to Joker, and a psychic power overtook him. His ears rang, his head ached, and he fell to the ground in pain. With him down, the shadow took another move, this time performing the same action to Skull that it did to Mona. Fortunately, Skull managed to dodge the attack on his mind. Mona once again attacked with a powerful gust of wind, and one final ice attack from Fox did The Marionette in. 

With the shadow defeated, the team regrouped. “Damnit! What’s gotten into him!” Skull punched the set piece next to him. “Why doesn’t that coward just face us on his own?!”

“Can you stop treating him like some kind of villain already?!” Panther snapped, making a move towards Skull as her temper flared. “Stop being so hard on him! It’s like Joker said, we’re the ones who didn’t appreciate him enough. Weren’t you two friends?!”

“Yeah, until he threatened to leak our identities!”

“He’s reacting to how  _ we  _ treated him!” 

“Well that’s not my fault is it?! I’ve been tryna be his friend from the start!”

“You can’t just clear yourself of blame like that!”

“Both of you stop!” Queen stood between her bickering friends and put her hands up before either could make another move. “I don’t think any of us are happy about this, but we need to focus, and not start letting our guard down and drawing attention by fighting amongst ourselves.” 

The two went quiet, but the tension still lingered over the group. They all stayed silent, hardly even breathing until Joker spoke. “We should continue exploring. We might get into more trouble if we stick around. If we’re backstage, there might be a map of at least the rest of backstage around here.” 

The team navigated the tightly-packed area behind the stage, carefully moving past the set pieces and equipment scattered through the area. Dust floated through the air and coated everything in sight. “How can any artist work under such deplorable conditions?” Fox complained, covering his mouth to protect from the dust. “I’m tempted to do him a favor and organize this mess for him. Perhaps it’ll make him less unpleasant? He may even forgive us. I certainly would.” 

“We don’t have time for that.” Mona paused to grunt as he climbed over a stack of backdrops on the ground. “And I doubt it’d work anyway. He probably wants it this way. This  _ is  _ a representation of his desires.” 

“What twisted desires they are...” Fox sneered at a dust speckled set piece. 

“Well yeah,” Skull said. “We wouldn’t be here if his desires weren’t twisted.” 

“Stop grumbling, Skull,” Oracle chastised. “Looks like there’s some kind of poster over by that table. Might be a map, or at least a useful hint.” She pointed to a table set up flush against the wall, with what was seemingly a poster hanging up above it. 

The group stepped up to the table. There wasn’t anything unusual or unique about the table itself. On top the table sat 3 rather familiar looking puppets.

“Kamoshida...Madarame...Kaneshiro...these are all puppets of our past targets.” Panther said as she looked over the table. 

Skull’s face scrunched in disgust. “Somehow, the puppet version of that bastard is even worse than the real thing.” 

Fox moved closer to the table to pick up the puppet of his former mentor and get a closer look. “The craftsmanship is astounding. It almost looks like the real thing.” He took the marionette by the bars and started bouncing it around. 

“Can you...not do that?” Skull asked, stepping back and eyeing the puppet nervously. “It’s really weirdin’ me out.” 

“These are interesting, though.” Queen picked up the Kaneshiro puppet. “Why does he have puppets of them as well?”

“Yeah, yeah that’s great and all. Can we  _ please  _ move on?” Skull groaned. 

“What? You scared of puppets or something?” Oracle mocked, stepping towards Skull and standing on her tiptoes to better face him. 

Skull stepped back and scratched the back of his head. “What? Me, scared? No way man, it’s just weird seein’ these guys’ faces again, that’s all.”

“He’s totally scared.” Panther joined in on the playful banter. “He looked all pale during the show yesterday too.” 

“I ain’t freakin’ scared of some dumb puppets!” Skull snapped. “Look, there’s the damn map. Let’s take it and go already.” He snatched the map off the wall. 

“Looks like this is just a map of the first floor,” Mona said. “We’ll have to cross over to the front part of the theater to get upstairs. I don’t see any rooms that look like they would hold the treasure here, so let’s try and head up there.” 

Joker took the map. “Let’s go then.” 

“The sooner the better,” Skull sighed, still eyeing the table of puppets.

Panther smirked. “Still can’t believe you’re scared of something like that.”

The team passed through the rest of the cluttered backstage area without any trouble and made their way out to the main stage. As expected, shadows prowled through the sea of red chairs, all on the hunt for the Phantom Thieves. 

Sneaking, weaving, and ambushing the shadows was second nature to the team at this point. None of the shadows were too strong or threatening for them. Once they checked the entire theater, they pushed out to the lobby. More shadows scouted the wide open area, but fortunately enough there were plenty of pillars and furniture that could be used for sneaking around them. 

“Do we have an idea of where the stairs are?” Queen asked. 

Joker looked over the map. “Looks like they’re to the far left of here.” 

Once they cleared the room of shadows, the group made their way to the location marked on the map as the stairway. 

“Over here.” Fox called as he stood in front of a door. “Look at the sign.”

“Stairs to Offices- Staff Only,” Queen read as she approached. 

“Think we might find the treasure there?” Skull asked.

Mona nodded. “There’s a chance, since it doesn’t seem to be down here.” 

“Oh, but there’s a little problem isn’t there?” 

The group turned around. Seemingly from nowhere, Mishima’s shadow stood behind them, the usual smug, overconfident grin on his face. Akira frowned when he saw him. Looking at the shadow never got any easier. It was just a reminder of his shortcomings as a friend. “A problem?” He asked.

Shadow Mishima took off his hat and dusted the top as he spoke. “Well, as you can see, the room is staff only, protected with a passcode given only to those who work in my humble little theater. A shame you don’t work here isn’t it? Then you could explore those offices to your little heart’s content.” Shadow Mishima clicked his tongue thoughtfully as he put his hat back on and moved closer. “What to do, what to do...”

Joker watched him, curious as to what he was planning. “Are you trying to offer something to us?”

“Oh! Aren’t you a smart one! What is it you’re called around here? Fool? Clown?” He grinned playfully as he patted Joker’s back. “Oh, it doesn’t matter. Point is, I have an offer for you Phantom Morons.” 

Skull moved to get more in the shadow’s face. “What makes you think we’ll-”

“We’re listening.” Joker raised his hand as he cut Skull off. 

“Splendid!” The shadow clapped his hands together and grinned. “You see, I need a little help putting my next show together. It’s hard work you know, and I wouldn’t want to disappoint my wonderful fans. So, if you all work as the crew for my little show, I’ll officially hire you as staff, and give you access to the offices.” His grin grew as he held out his hand. “What do you say? Are you up to the task?”

Joker stared at his hand for a short time. They really didn’t have much of a choice, did they? There weren’t a lot of other places to look, and they hadn’t found the passcode on any of the shadows. He sighed and shook the shadow’s hand. “Deal.”

Shadow Mishima’s taunting smirk turned into a more gleeful, excited smile. “Excellent! We’ll need a nice set, some costumes for the puppets, oh! Lighting too! I’ll leave the instructions backstage for you. Don’t let me down!” He vanished, and left the team alone once again. 

“Man, do we really have to help that guy with his stupid freaky show?” Skull complained. 

Fox held his chin thoughtfully, his mind seemingly elsewhere. “Personally, I think it’s an excellent opportunity for us to expand our horizons. Painting a set for the theater is quite different from painting for say, an exhibit.”

Panther smiled. “See? Fox has the right idea. I’ve always wanted to try making clothes, too!”

“Are you guys out of your mind?!” Skull snapped, raising his hands in frustration. “We’re not doing this for fun! You shouldn’t be enjoying this!”

“It does kinda help to see the positive in a situation like this,” Oracle stated. 

“What’s positive about any of this?! I’m only agreein’ to it because I want the old Mishima back already! This whole situation is bullshit!”

Once again, the group found themselves in a tense silence.  _ So that’s how it is.  _ “Skull,” Joker spoke softly as he put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You’re not actually mad at Mishima himself, are you?”

Skull swatted the hand away and shoved his hands in his pockets. “...I don’t wanna talk about it.” He muttered as he turned away. “Let’s just get this over with.” 

“I think it’d be smart for us to start fresh tomorrow, rather than just rushing into things,” Mona said. “It’ll give us time to think, too.” 

Joker hummed in agreement. “Let’s get going for now. I think we all need the rest.”

With the decision made, the team found their way out of the Palace and back into the real world. The next day would start the real challenge, and Akira wasn’t quite sure how ready for that challenge he was. He could only hope that this would all work out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'll be working on this on top of my Akeshima fic Repairing the Bonds We Once Broke. I'll be alternating chapters, so next will be a Repairing the Bonds update!! As always, kudos and comments make my day!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!! As always, kudos are appreciated, and comments are DOUBLE appreciated. This au has been stuck in my head for awhile, and I know there's a lot like it, so I'd love to hear how people feel about my take on things. Hopefully I can get the second chapter out soon!!


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